Texarkana National Bank, Texarkana, TX (Charter 3785)
Texarkana National Bank, Texarkana, TX (Chartered 1887 - Closed (Merger) 1999)
Town History
Texarkana is a city in Bowie County, Texas, in the Ark-La-Tex region. Located approximately 180 miles from Dallas, Texarkana is a twin city with neighboring Texarkana, Arkansas. The Texas city's population was 36,193 at the 2020 census.
The city and its Arkansas counterpart form the core of the Texarkana Metropolitan Statistical Area, encompassing all of Bowie County, Texas, and Miller County, Arkansas. The two cities had a combined population of 65,580 in the 2020 census, and the metropolitan area had a population of 149,482.
The name Texarkana is known to be a portmanteau of Texas, Arkansas, and nearby Louisiana. However, accounts of the name's origin differ, and it had been in use some time before the town was founded. The most popular tradition is that when the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway was building its line through the area, Col. Gus Knobel, a railroad surveyor, coined the name. He is said to have painted it on a plank and nailed it to a tree, saying "This is the name of a town which is to be built here." Another story tells of a Red River steamboat named The Texarkana, c. 1860. A third account relates that a storekeeper named Swindle in Red Land, Louisiana, concocted a drink called "Texarkana Bitters".
Texarkana had four National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and all four of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized July 23, 1887
- Chartered September 5, 1887
- Bank was Open past 1935
- For Bank History after 1935 see FDIC Bank History website
- Merged into Hibernia National Bank in New Orleans, LA, January 1, 1999
In August 1887, a new bank was organized at Texarkana, the Texarkana National Bank, with paid up capital of $100,000. It would begin operations as soon as the building, vault and fixtures were completed. Judge B.T. Estes was president.
In April 1891, the officers were B.T. Estes, president; Wm. Buchanan, vice president; and W.R. Grim, cashier.
On October 29, 1892, B.T. Estes of the Texarkana National Bank had an exciting midnight duel with a burglar. At that hour, Mr. Estes was awakened by his wife who told him a burglar was in the house. He immediately sat up in bed pistol in hand. It was too dark to see, but the burglar hissed with an oath, "Sit down or I'll kill you." Mr. Estes took quick aim and fired two shots in the direction of the voice. The intruder opened fire, discharging three shots one of which passed just above Mr. Estes' head and the other two lodged in the bed railing. The burglar then escaped through the window he had entered apparently uninjured.
In March 1895, the officers were Benj. T. Estes, president; Wm. Buchanan, vice president; W.R. Grim, cashier; and O.H. McCorkle, assistant cashier. The bank had capital $100,000, surplus and profits $75,000, and total resources of $726,804.13. The First National Bank of Texarkana closed and President Estes had to correct the report that his bank was the one in trouble.
On December 15, 1903, the Texarkana National Bank moved into its new quarters. It was one of the finest bank buildings in the southwest. All the latest improvements in vaults, time locks, bank fixtures, etc. were placed into the new, two-story high, gray pressed brick and stone building in the old colonial style.
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The Texarkana National Bank, Texarkana, TX
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $4,475,910 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1887 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 544,486 notes (300,118 large size and 244,368 small size notes).
This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:
Series/Type Sheet/Denoms Serial#s Sheet Comments 1882 Brown Back 4x5 1 - 545 1882 Brown Back 50-100 1 - 1091 1902 Red Seal 4x5 1 - 500 1902 Red Seal 3x10-20 1 - 1330 1902 Date Back 4x5 1 - 15250 1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 10900 1902 Plain Back 4x5 15251 - 42254 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 10901 - 29855 1929 Type 1 6x5 1 - 23268 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 11808 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 2948 1929 Type 2 5 1 - 9498 1929 Type 2 10 1 - 5526 1929 Type 2 20 1 - 1200
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1887 - 1935):
Presidents:
- Benjamin T. Estes, 1887-1902
- William Rhoads Grim, 1903-1923
- John William Wheeler, 1924-1930
- John Andrew Pondrom, 1931-1935
Cashiers:
- Charles A. Williams, 1887-1889
- William Rhoads Grim, 1890-1902
- Otis Harvey McCorkle, 1903-1906
- Alfred B. De Loach, 1907-1907
- John William Wheeler, 1908-1922
- Harold Thomas Wiegel, 1923-1924
- Robert Milan Bone, 1925-1935
Other Bank Note Signers
- There are currently no known Vice President or Assistant Cashier bank note signers for this bank.
Wiki Links
- Texas Bank Note History
- General information on Texarkana (Wikipedia)
- General information on Bowie County (Wikipedia)
- General information on Texas (Wikipedia)
Sources
- Texarkana, TX, on Wikipedia
- Don C. Kelly, National Bank Notes, A Guide with Prices. 6th Edition (Oxford, OH: The Paper Money Institute, 2008).
- Dean Oakes and John Hickman, Standard Catalog of National Bank Notes. 2nd Edition (Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 1990).
- Banks & Bankers Historical Database (1782-1935), https://spmc.org/bank-note-history-project
- The Southern Standard, Arkadelphia, AR, Sat., Aug. 27, 1887.
- Daily Arkansas Gazette, Little Rock, AR, Tue., Apr. 14, 1891.
- Austin American-Statesman, Austin, TX, Sun., Oct. 30, 1892.
- The Galveston Daily News, Galveston, TX, Mon., Mar. 18, 1895.
- Arkansas Democrat, Little Rock, AR, Wed., Dec. 16, 1903.